Infinite
by Ethereal Wanderer
Summary: Infinity is nothing but a collection of moments, of precious memories and future dreams. And as long we have hope to push us forward, new ones can always be made. Four/Ryo x OC. Lovey-dovey naughty romance that follows the crew of The Raza in their quest to solve the puzzle of their missing memories. M!
1. Chapter One

Soooooooo, Season 2 is starting soon and I have a lot to study... and as a result I started writing this story.

One and only disclaimer: I own nothing from Dark Matter. Duh...

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Look for the answer inside your question."

* * *

She was aware of the ruckus going on outside, the sound of heavy boots on metal and the chattering of several voices. She could make out at least two men and a woman. They were arguing but she couldn't quite make out the words; she couldn't even really concentrate. Where was she? Why was it so dark? There was a loud pounding and she tried to open her eyes, but failed.

"Oh, another eye candy. Time to wake up, gorgeous." More banging. It seemed to vibrate straight to her head, making her nauseous all of a sudden. Pain struck through her entire body, followed by the sensation of falling. All noise faded and her consciousness seemed to be swallowed by the blackness that surrounded her.

The next thing she knew she was laying on a hard surface, a blonde woman in a blue jumpsuit poking and prodding her. Panic rose quickly. Where was she? It looked like an infirmary, but then, why was she there? Who was this woman? The more questions popped into her head the more agitated she became, her breathing hitching. In the span of a heartbeat, realization hit her that she had no idea who she was, and a complete sense of dread took over. She felt… lost. Alone and drifting. Her arms kept shaking and the thoughts in her head became erratic until the woman spoke.

"How are you feeling? Any headaches? Dizziness?"

"What? Who are you?" Her voice came out hoarse and broke a little towards the end.

"We all woke up from stasis without our memories. We have no idea who we are or how we got here." She spun around so fast she almost fell off the infirmary table. There were more people in the room, six to be exact, all cladded in black. Like a mouse cornered by hungry cats, her first instinct was to back against a wall in case any of these strangers meant her harm.

"What happened to us?"

"We don't know, sweetcakes. We were hoping _you_ had some answers."

"I… " She looked between the four men and two women, hoping at least one of them would look familiar, but to no avail. It was the first time she was seeing any of their faces. But without her memory, that could be completely untrue. Hell, she wasn't really sure how her own face looked like. "I can't even remember my name."

"None of us do. We named ourselves after the order we woke up in. He is One." The guy that spoke first lifted his hand in a silent salute. "I am Two. That guy is Three."

"At your service, doll face." Two rolled her eyes and continued; she seemed nice enough. Fierce, but nice nonetheless. At least there were other women in this bizarre group of amnesiacs.

"The guy in the back is Four." The man gave a small nod and kept starring at her from the doorframe. He seemed a bit creepy. Of course, not as creepy as Three. "She is Five."

"Nice to meet you." A girl with green hair smiled kindly at her. She looked young and out of place, but her presence offered a sense of security; surely if the sweet looking girl was a part of this crew they weren't as bad as they looked, right?"

"And I am Six." He was a tall black man and despite the confusion written on his face, his eyes were gentle. "That makes you Seven."

"Shouldn't I be Seven?" The blonde woman spoke startling her. There was something off about her voice.

"But you're an android." Oh, so she was technically a sophisticated robot. _It_ seemed disappointed though, for not being included in the count. She felt sorry for the android, even if she was aware that it couldn't have feelings.

"Eight suits her better anyway." Five spoke up, all gleeful and pointed to a spot on the back of her own neck. "She has a small tattoo there, an infinity sign. That's sort of eight looking, right?" Two sighed, but didn't argue.

"That' settled then. You're Eight from now on until we figure out who we really are."

"Yeah, okay. Great." It was far from _great_. She had been reduced to a number. She was basically no one, neither of them were anyone actually. They could die in that very moment and none of them would know if anyone would cry at the loss, if anyone waited for them somewhere, if they had a place they called 'home'. Fuck! They wouldn't even know their own names. Who the freaking hell would be even dyeing in the first place? She was trembling slightly, but she hoped no one would notice. She figured speaking with the others would prevent her from completely fall apart. "So… anyone knows what this place is? A ship?"

"Yeah. We think it's a cargo ship."

"Okay, cool. What are we transporting?"

"These babies." Three brought up to his face a huge riffle and blew a kiss its way. Okay, there was something wrong with him.

" _Fantastic!_ " Eight smiled without really meaning it. It was that or cry her eyes out. "If that's not a good sight, I've clearly never been given any." Joking about it helped, it would lessen the tension, right?

"We don't know what the weapons are for. It's not a given that they are for evil purposes." One explained to her, but it seemed more like he was trying to convince himself rather than shed some light for Eight.

"Umm, they are weapons! People use them to _kill_ other people. What good and noble purpose is there?" The room fell silent for a while and Eight cursed herself in her mind. Good job killing the mood! Well, the mood was dead since they woke with no memory, now she was technically desecrating the mood's grave. She shook her head to push the stupid thoughts away. "I'm sorry. I just… Do we know what caused the memory loss in the first place? Or if it will come back to us?" Two was the one to answer, folding her arms over her chest in the process.

"No. All we know is that we were in stasis, the ship was damaged, life support hit critical limits and hazard protocol kicked in automatically awakening all us." As if reading Eight's thoughts, the android continued with the explanations.

"Your pod malfunctioned somewhere along the ride, that's why it took longer for you to come to. No damage done, though; you are good as new." She gave Eight a small smile. Well, good as new came with a free memory wipe. Yay!

"We're hoping the memories will eventually return, since, apparently we weren't wiped clean. We retained some general knowledge and skills." One explained, gesturing with his arms to Four and Two. Okay, that was a good thing. At least maybe they would get a hint as to who they were, or in what field of activity they used to work.

"So… what now? Can we find out who we are? I mean, if this is our ship-"

"There is no data about the crew. We're going to check the ship and see what we can find. Here's your comm, so we can all keep in touch. Take this just in case." Two gave her a small earpiece and a hand gun. Eight didn't even look at the weapon as she stashed it in the helm of her pants quickly as if it burned her hand. "I'm going to the bridge with Android to figure out how to complete maintenance and maybe dig up some information."

With that, the feisty brunette and the android left. The others turned towards the exit after her, and Eight slid off the table to follow them. Bare feet hit the ground and she hissed, cold metal biting at her skin.

"Come with me. I'll show you were the lockers are. We took clothes from there ourselves, I'm sure you'll find something to suit you." Five's voice came from besides her and the younger girl led the way. It was fairly close, but Eight was already lost, the metal halls looking all the same to her. It was going to be a fun ride until she got her memories back… Lost in life and completely lost aboard a labyrinth of a ship.

In the locker room, Eight scanned through the piles of clothes, all seemingly in dark shades. She didn't mind as long as she was warm. She picked up a black jacket and smiled when it fit like a glove.

"I wonder if this was mine." She pondered as she was rolling a pair of socks over her freezing feet.

"It looks good on you. Even if it weren't yours though, no one would miss it, or these boots. I think they're your number."

"Ah, thank you." They weren't heavy, but they felt strange, as if she wasn't really used to walking in such heavy shoes. But they fit and they kept her feet far, far away from the icy floor. When she was all done she got up from the crate she was sitting on and looked at Five. "Should we check around here, see if there's anything useful in these lockers? Or did you guy already do that?"

"I don't think they did a thorough check. We just picked up things to wear and split up."

"Well, shall we? Something around here might trigger our memory."

"I think I'll snoop around a bit. Are you okay on your own?"

"Oh, yeah, sure. Don't worry about me, it's just like the android said, good as new." She flashed a smile, but didn't really feel it. In truth she was terrified of being alone. But Five smiled back and spun around on her heels, exiting the room. Her footsteps echoed in the hall, the sound fading with every passing second. Eight took her place back on the crate and rested her head in her hands.

What was she doing there? With this crew? Was she a part of it? One and Five looked innocent enough, but the others could be criminals. She was sure Three was, he was way too comfortable around guns. But appearances deceive. And they all had no memories. Anyone could be anything. A pilot, a cook, an engineer, a doctor, a psychopath. Well, one could be a doctor and a psychopath; it wasn't a profession, it was a mental defect. She rubbed her eyes, tears starting to fill them. Nothing made sense! She had nothing to start from, no clue about her previous existence. Nothing! She could be vile person, too; nothing excluded her from the equation.

She took a deep breath and calmed herself. Despairing didn't help her one bit. Her hand found the gun and she brought it for a closer inspection. Did she know how to use it? She knew the safety was locked so it wouldn't fire. Her fingers curled around the gun and she held it in front of her, pointing it at the wall ahead. It felt wrong, but she still knew how use it, she knew not to keep her finger on the trigger for she ricked firing too early, knew to keep both her eyes open when aiming. To her horror, she could name the places she had to hit to effectively kill a person. Damn it! She threw the gun aside and slid on the cold floor, her head on her knees, arms wrapped around her legs. She wasn't sure for long she sat like that, desperately trying to keep her mind black of any maddening thoughts. At some point, footsteps woke her from her trance. She wiped away the tears she had no idea she shed. There was a lot of 'not knowing' going on in her life.

Eight cautiously peeked up to see Four enter the room. Their eyes met and he halted. It gave the impression he didn't want her there, but there was no real way of knowing for sure. His face gave away nothing. Her next thought was that he was an assassin, the kind that stalked quietly in the dead of night and killed you before you even got too take a good look at him. And suck a shame, he was quite the looker.

"Seems like we had the same idea to scavenge this place." He replied nothing; he was like a freaking statue. His dark eyes kept examining her face and probably noting all the micro-expressions she was making. What if he misinterpreted the aggravated furrow of her brows as a hostile thing? Better break the awkward silence. "I… can go if you want."

"I'll look in the lockers. You take the crates." She was a little startled by his voice since she wasn't really expecting him to answer. But it was pleasant, low and just husky enough to make her want to hear it more. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to use his voice much.

"Ah, sure." She went to the first crate and started sorting through the clothes. She decided to order them into 'Men' and 'Women'. The crew could brows through them later and maybe everyone could identify what belonged to who, though she and Two could most likely fit in the same things. She passed through the two large crates fast, most of the things already scattered on the floor by whoever checked them first. She was startled when she ship jolted out of the blue, her hands grabbing the nearby wall to steady herself.

"Sounds like the engines started." He gave her a curt nod and proceeded to inspect the next locker. Eight would've felt a little offended, if the guy hadn't also displayed the same amount of conversation skill with the others. He wasn't much of a talker, she could respect that. She didn't feel like talking anyway. Well, she did, but what could they really talk about? Favorite food? No idea. Last vacation place? No idea. Loved ones? Not one clue. The only option left was to speculate on their current predicament, and she did that enough on her own. So she minded her business, checking the smaller crates and placing each item in its pile. She noticed Four had done the same with the things from the locker, adding them to the two piles she made. Eight moved to reach the last crate that was just behind Four, when her legs no longer reached the floor.

"What the…" She looked around and saw everything was starting to float, her silent companion included. In a moment of fright, she reached for him and grabbed the helm on his shirt. ' _Surprised'_ didn't do justice to what she felt when he took hold of her hand and pulled her closer. She gasped and her eyes widen, then blushed when she thought her expression must have been ridiculous to him who always kept such a straight face.

When the artificial gravity kicked in again, Four landed on his feet with grace, unsurprisingly. He held her still, steadying her as she struggled not to land face first. She gripped his arm for better support and felt the muscles tighten. Damn, he was well built! She untangled herself from him before she could embarrass herself any further.

"Thanks. My face would've met the floor rather brutally…" His response came dry and cold.

"You have good balance. You could have landed on your own." Ouch! That was mean. It sounded as if he was annoyed she leaned on him for a few seconds there.

"Sorry… for being a bother?" He eyed her for a moment before cracking a smile. A small one, but a smile nevertheless. It was gone the moment she blinked. He shook his head and let out a short sigh.

"I only meant you should give yourself more credit."

"Oh." It had been a compliment then? She had good balance… was that a good thing? Was she an assassin from the shadows just like him?

"Let's go see what's going on." He took lead, guiding them both trough the metal maze that was the blasted ship. Eight tried to pay attention to the path they were taking, but failed miserably, her eyes landing on the man in front of her. She was transfixed with the way his muscles flexed beneath the skin of his upper arms. His back was wide, strong. And his ass, hot damn! Come to think of it, the entire crew was surprisingly good looking. Even Five who was probably in her teens was gorgeous. But Four? He was making up for the brooding personality with his perfectly sculptured body. Eight probably looked like a potato, all groups need a mascot, right? She heard voices and shook away the silly thought, making a mental note to find a mirror the next time she wanders around the ship.

"Any idea who attacked us or why?" One came on the bridge just as she and Four took spots in the back of the group.

"None whatsoever."

"Maybe the robot had something to do with it?" Of course Three was the first to jump to conclusions. Out of everyone on board, Eight suspected the android the least. She was a machine after all, she had no will or desires of her own. The banter between Three and the android kept going for a while, making Eight's eye twitch with every sentence spoken by the two.  
"I have no intentions of harming anyone on this ship."

"Except for the part you tried to kill us."

"I have no memory of such an attack."

"So you keep saying."

"Alright calm down."

"Are you kidding me? I woke up a couple of hours ago, I got no idea who I am, how the hell I got here. Nearly got killed by the Forgetful Robot, almost blasted to scrag by some mysterious ship, and now we are floating in the middle of who-knows-where."

"Actually we do know where. We're on course for a nearby inhabited world. Before we were attacked I initiated a recovery program in order to salvage recently deleted data." Well, _that_ was neat. Someone could have information on who they were on that planet.

"You can do that?"

"The process is time-consuming and most of the information is irretrievable. However I managed to salvage some data like the ship's original destination. We should be arriving in less than 12 hours."

"Okay. Everyone pick a room and get some rest. We don't know what will be waiting for us when we get there."

Eight trailed the rest of the group, while only Two remained on the bridge with the android. Most of them appeared to already have chosen a room as their own, each heading towards a door with determination. She stood in the center of the hall, examining the sleeping quarters from afar. The crew scattered, some entering the rooms near the exit, other venturing further down the hall. Eight decided to keep things simple and stay as close as possible to the way she came from; with her level of orientation she was bound to get lost fast if she didn't keep tags on the paths and her current position.

She slid the door open and took in the fairly empty room. There was a spacious bed, thankfully, and two nightstands flanking it. Then there was a small desk with a computer and what appeared to be a dresser. She noted a smaller door and, hoping it was the bathroom, she went in. It was indeed a small bathroom and the first ting Eight did was stare at her reflection in the mirror. Dark hair was gathered in a plated bun on top of her head. It looked hideous, so she struggled a couple of minutes to untangle it and massage her sore scalp. Her hair was long and wavy, passing her elbows. It was silky and she wondered why she let anyone braid it in such a way in the first place. Looking again in the mirror she took in her other features. Pale skin, light brown eyes, small pouty lips, and straight nose. The person staring back at her looked both familiar and foreign at the same time. But it was a slight relief, that she vaguely recognized the face she saw everyday for the past decade.

She left the bathroom to inspect the rest of the room. The tall dresser was filled with clothes lingerie items, resulting this had been a woman's room, maybe even her own. Pushing past the fabrics she noted all of them were in dark or faded colors and most of them were dresses, some very pretentious. Who wore dresses in space? A she scooped up another deep red dress, she found a couple jewelry boxes at the back, hidden from curious eyes. Checking each one she kept an inventory in her head: three necklaces, five braces, one old-looking ring and a delicate tiara. How pompous! Who even wore tiaras anymore? She shook her head and stuffed everything back. She silently wished it hadn't been her room before the whole stasis induced memory loss.

The pale pink covers of the bed were soft and welcoming. The moment her head hit the pillow she felt herself drifting to sleep. Thoughts of assassins and criminals crossed her mind, but more as an afterthought than an actual processed idea. It was silent but for the low murmur of the ship being in FTL.

The pounding on the door gave Eight a strange déjà-vu. All of a sudden she was waking from stasis all over again, the past hours were going to repeat and she would forever be stuck in a loop of falling asleep and waking up with no past, no identity. She jumped out of bed, breathing raged. Her skin was clammy, she needed a shower. More pounding made her hurry to the door. When it slid open, Two was glaring at her, but as she saw her disheveled self, the other woman's expression softened.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so, yeah. I got a weird feeling that I was waking up in the pod again." The pity in Two's eyes was welcomed, though annoying to some degree. She didn't want anyone's pity, she just wanted to know _who_ she was. "Uh, can I help you with anything?"

"We're landing soon. I was going to send you on the ground with the boys, but maybe you should stay here." Eight's brows furrowed. The fact that Two was _going to send_ her anywhere bothered her. She wasn't asking her to go, she was giving an order. She had half a mind to protest, but gave in. She needed air. Fresh air.

"No, it's fine. I'll just take a quick shower and come to the bridge."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Someone has to keep the men in check." Two cracked a smirk at the remark and nodded.

One quick shower later, Eight picked a pair of black pants and a tight blue shirt. Her hair had gotten wet and was sticking to her skin, so she gathered it in a loose braid. Heavy boots on, she made her way to the bridge. Two signaled her to follow and the women left for the hangar. Eight saw Three entering a small ship and sighed. It was going to be a fun trip. Two went in first and Eight took the last seat in the very back.

"We tried communicating with whoever's down there but received no response." The android's constant voice always seemed to have something grim to tell them.

"Could be a tech issue." Ah, One, ever the optimist. Eight thought it was more practical to assume the worst, just in case. Then, nothing could disappoint or surprise them. She was not a pessimist, but going on a unknown planet expecting rainbows and butterflies seemed like a stupid plan.

"Could be a lot of things. Fly safe." With that, Two exited the ship and the android started the engine. Eight's eyes landed on the back of Four's head. He hadn't turned to look after Two as she bounced her perfectly curved ass of the ship and it made her wonder if he wasn't attracted to her or he had just that much self-control. After a short moment of silent debating, she voted for the self-control; the man wore a perfectly sculptured mask all the time. She spent the rest of the way to the planer wondering what Five was doing and how Two managed to keep her off their little expedition. When they landed, One rambled again, his sunny perspective of the world starting to aggravate her. For once she was finding Three a more reasonable man.

"There's no reason to assume the inhabitants will be hostile."

"No reason to assume they won't be."

"Remember, we're just looking for answers. We're not here to cause trouble."

"That's far enough!" Yeah, always expect problems! "Who are you? Why are you here?" Eight almost laughed at the 1000 points question. She would have, if it weren't for the guns pointed at them.

"Yeah, I was afraid those questions might come up."

"They're not Corporate Guard. They could be Hrothgar's people." Eight pondered who was this Hrothgar for only a second. She had more urgent questions that needed answers, like who she was.

"Did Hrothgar send you?"

"We didn't come here to hurt anyone."

"Or get hurt. Especially that last part."

"So why don't we just lower our weapons... All of us." After Three reluctantly lowered his gun, the miners took them to a dining hall and offered them a bite. Eight scanned the area for anything that might jog her memory, but nothing stood out. The food was welcomed, thought. She hadn't realized how famished she had been until food touched her taste buds.

"You say your ship was attacked?"

"Well, we're not exactly..."

"Raiders. Came at us out of nowhere, disabled our engines, looted our ship, left us for dead." Three saving the day. Maybe she hadn't given the man enough credit. He certainly knew how to handle the situation better than One.

"You're lucky to be alive."

"Wouldn't be if we hadn't managed to restore life-support. With nav systems down, we were flying blind, we got lucky, picked up your settlement on our long-range scanners."

"Wow, well, you're welcome to re-supply and help yourself to whatever you need. But then you best be off."

"Why's that?"

"We're expecting trouble. We pull enough tarium out of the ground to get by, but we've never been of interest to any of the big multi-corps. That is until now."

"You hit a big strike?" Six asked, appearing genuinely interested.

"It was a couple of Ferrous Corporation geologists. Surveying the nearby asteroid belt. Apparently they found the mother lode. But without a Hab-1 planet in the vicinity, it would be too expensive to extract. They need a place to house the miners, grow food, source fresh water."

"Some place like here? But it's a big planet."

"It's not big enough so far as they're concerned. The multi-corps don't share planetary resources. It minimizes the risk of outsiders, interfering with their operations. As long we work this claim, we have legal title. But if we were to leave, or if something should happen to us... well, you get the idea. So that's why you wanna be long gone before the Raza get here."

"The Raza?" Eight found herself muttering the word without giving it much thought. It rolled off her tongue in a strangely fluid way, almost familiar.

"They work as enforcers for the multi-corps. They clean up loose ends, trouble spots... like us. They're aliens, they're half-man, half-reptile, and I've heard that they're over seven feet tall, and they have skin that burns to the..."

"The fact is no one really knows what they are, because no one's ever survived an encounter with them."

The rest of the conversation faded in the background as panic struck Eight again. Why was the name of such a terrifying alien race even slightly known to her? It was the first thing that was remotely recognizable besides her own face. Her hands balled into fists, nails biting the skin of her palm. What if she was truly evil? Maybe she was sent on the ship with these people to sabotage the shipment, so these Raza could infiltrate easily. Perhaps she wasn't part of the crew. She could have been the one that set the memory wipe, the culprit they're all searching for. A warm hand clasped firmly on her shoulder and she almost jumped in her seat.

"Are you alright?" Four's voice was soothing and her eyes might have lingered an unnecessary second or two on his lips.

"What? Um, oh, yes. I spaced out for a moment." She eyed her empty tray, slightly flustered at her own emotions taking over her so easily. Four retracted his hand without another words, but not before giving a slight squeeze. It was the most comforting thing that she could recall in her entire existence, existence that spanned, as far she knew, for a day or less. It was an extremely saddening realization.

"We seemed to have scared the little lady." The leader of the miners let out a laugh but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He was most likely frightened too. "You best be on your way then. We prepared some supplies for you to take." They were escorted back to their Marauder and handed crates, each taking one. The leader and his people gathered for their departure and Eight's mood got even darker as she looked at the soon-to-be-dead.

"Gentlemen. My lady." The old miner gave her a soft smile and Eight couldn't help but feel sorry for the miners. They were on borrowed time, soon to be exterminated by some giant reptile people. With all their distress, they still helped their little crew.

"Thank you for your hospitality. Not many would have greeted strangers with such generosity." Eight bowed, as much as she managed with the heavy crate in her hands.

"Such nice manners. The pleasure was ours." He bowed his head politely and smiled a little wider. As Eight was boarding the Marauder she heard One talk to the blonde miner girl.

"That pendant, does it hold any special significance?"

"Hrothgar gave it to me before he left. He said it symbolized freedom in the face of oppression and that when his people arrived we'd be able to recognize them 'cause they too would have this mark."

She saw One coming aboard with determination written all over his face. He was a man with a mission set in stone. "This isn't right. Am I the only person who heard what they said? A shipment of arms? Obviously we were meant to help these people."

"We don't know that." It was, as usual, Three who contradicted him. The scruffy looking man seemed to take pleasure in being against the other's opinions.

"And the fact that we have a cargo hold full of weapons, that's a coincidence?"

"You're forgetting one important detail, the scary lizard people that are on their way to this planet to destroy everything! I'm guessing you don't wanna be there when they show up."

"Okay, I admit, that part sounded bad."

"Let's table this discussion until we're back on the ship, alright?" Six mediated the whole argument and Eight had to agree with him.

"Agreed. This is something we all should have a say in." And think through with a clear mind. No matter the respect Eight held for the miners, the pressing matter of their current state was still the bigger issue. How were they supposed to help the miners if they couldn't even help themselves?

The Marauder docked back on the mother ship and the crew gathered in the dining hall. One went on and on about how they were _meant_ to save the miners and he held the pendant he had found in his room as unquestionable proof. It was plausible, she gave him that, but Eight wanted to lay down all the options before taking a final decision. Their fates were in balance; it was no laughing matter.

"I'm telling you, we're supposed to be helping these people. The matching pendants? It can't be a coincidence."

"They were nice enough to help us and offer supplies. They're good people we are abandoning." Eight stated calmly, thinking it more relevant than what they were sent there to do before their memories were erased.

"All I'm saying is even if we're supposed to be helping these people, which I doubt, doesn't mean we're gonna do it. We don't even know what happened to us, or how we're going to get our memories back."

"And those weapons would fetch a very good price on the open market. The money would go a long way." Two said matter-of-factly, not sounding too pleased with herself.

"Except they're already paid for. They belong to the miners."

"Doesn't matter if they belong to the miners. They're in our cargo hold. They belong to us now."

"Those people will die if we don't help them."

"They're already dead." There was a moment of silence as Four spoke up from his spot, not bothering to stop eating his soup. So he was against giving the weapons away. Good to know; there were two crew members already for keeping the weapons.

"He doesn't say much, but when he does, it makes sense." Three was the first to break the silence, amazed by his new ally in the argument.

"If their enemy is even half as powerful as they believe, then they're doomed."

"The least we can do is give them a fighting chance."

"I'm pretty sure the least we can do is nothing. Which, for the record, is what I'm suggesting we do."

"Giving them the weapons to just loose the fight and be slaughtered anyway is a waste of resourced that _we_ need." Eight countered. She felt all eyes shift towards her, but didn't shy away.

"Are you for helping the miners or against? Make up your god damn mind!" One shouted angrily at her, slamming a hand on the table. Eight saw red in front on her eye and she got to her feet, her own hands connecting to the table's surface with a loud bang. Who did this prick think he was? He was just another number like the rest of them.

"I want us to take all possibilities into account! Walk through all the consequences! This is an important decision we have to take and we have to think _rationally_. We find ourselves in a peculiar situation here, without all the information on hand. Helping _them_ could mean death for _us_. Do you want to die not even knowing who the hell you are? Do any of you want that?" She took a long breath and pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to calm herself, then continued. "I'm not saying we abandon them. But our top priority should be ourselves and what we have to do from here on, after we leave this planet behind."

"Alright. Let's put it to a vote." One said defeated, his ears red from embarrassment. Eight sat back down and waited to see what everyone was voting.

"Fine. I vote that we keep the weapons, we sell them, take what we make to stay alive, and find out what the hell happened to us."

"Agreed." Four muttered, still sipping at the damn soup. Was it more important than the debate they were having?

"I think we do what we know we came here to do, complete the delivery."

"He's right. I say we help those people." Six added as if the decision had been long made.

" Yeah, me too, I want to help those people." Five jumped in eagerly only to be shut down by Three.

"Wait a minute, she can't vote."

"Why not?!"

" Cause you're a kid."

"She's a member of this crew."

"Who's a kid, what are you, like, 15 years old?"

"Do we really have to have a vote to decide if she gets to vote?"

"I vote against her voting." Three lifted his hand but was met only with glares. When Four also shook his head in disapproval, he turned to Eight. "What about you, doll? Are you with us?" Eight looked at Three. He had a charming smile, the kind that you see on someone's face while they rob you blind. Did she want to be associated with someone like him? Her eyes landed on Four. He was a calm and calculated person from what she had gathered so far. He must have objectively analyzed the entire situation before coming to that conclusion. On the other side, there were One, Five and Six, all passionate and ruled by their hearts. Eight sighed and reluctantly gave her response, fully aware she was giving Two the decisive vote.

"As much as I want to help the miners I think blindly giving up our resources is plainly stupid in this particular situation. We need those weapons as much as they do. Besides, they had a choice, they could have just left. We don't even really know our options, we know a little more than nothing! I vote we sell the weapons and figure out how to restore our memories."

"Spoken like a true orator! Great, three to three. What do you say, boss lady?" Three smirked and turned towards Two, who was apparently in charge. When had that happened? The woman took a moment to think then gave the most diplomatic answer.

"Set half the crates aside. The rest go down to the surface." It was fair to some extent, both parties were receiving something. A win-win situation in theory. Unless it turned into a lose-lose one in practice, when the miners got killed despite the weapons and the crew had no more fuel money.

No one contested her decision though. It was the best they were going to settle for anyway. One was not going to completely abandon the miners and Three would sooner put a bullet trough One's head before giving away their only funds.

The crew scattered, some following Two to divide the cache. Eight got up and left too when she met Five's eyes. She liked the girl, but she was not going to feel sorry for the decision she came to. She caught up with the others on her way to the sleeping quarters and Three came to walk by her side.

"You voted for keeping the weapons."

"I know, I was there. What of it?" She was tired and only wished to find the damn sleeping quarters.

"You seemed to be getting friendly with them back on the ground. Didn't expect you to turn your back on them, that's all, sweetcheeks. That was cold-hearted of you." The playful undertone made her want to loosen up some of the tension and play along with him.

"Ah, and here I thought you'd appreciate the gesture and notice me, darling. You're such a heartbreaker."

"Now, now, don't be silly. Of course I noticed you. From the moment I laid eyes on your sleeping form in the stasis pod."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, yeah. So what do you say, later tonight-"

"In your dreams only, tiger." She replied sweetly and took a different corridor splitting from them to escape the ridiculous conversation. It was becoming awkward since she suspected everyone in front of them was listening in. One surely was, as he let out a scoff and shook his head. She ventured on her own, getting completely lost. A few more minutes of aimlessly wandering and she recognized the door towards the bridge. As she was about to turn the other way around, Two's voice came through her comm.

"I need everyone on the bridge, now." Well, that was convenient. She made her way inside and both the woman and the android turned from the screen to her.

"That was fast."

"I might or might not have gotten lost." Two opened her mouth to ask something but was interrupted by One and the others.

"What's going on?"

"The Android managed to recover a significant amount of data related to this ship and its crew."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Six sounded hopeful, but Eight sighed. Two wouldn't have called them all in such a rush if there was good news. The android soon confirmed her worries.

"Marcus Boone... murder, assault, kidnapping, piracy.

Griffin Jones... murder, assault, smuggling.

Jace Corso... murder, assault, kidnapping, trafficking, theft.

Ryo Tetsudo... murder, assault, piracy.

Portia Lin... murder, assault, arson, theft, piracy."

"Turns out the Raza aren't a race of aliens. 'The Raza' is the name of this ship. We're not here to help these people. We're here to kill them."

* * *

 **Okay** , so I had two OC ideas for this TV show ever since I watched the first episode. I spent more than half a day deciding which one to use and then choosing a name for her [ name that you won't find out for another chapter or two, possibly three... along with other things about her ]

The story will most likely have one chapter per episode and go along with season 2 when it airs. Hmm what else?

Oh, about her Number... anyone bothered she's Eight? I wanted to tie it with the whole forever/infinite theme.

Also... its gonna be **M**! You have been warned.

 **Let me know what you think so far :3**


	2. Chapter Two

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"You are at once both the quiet and the confusion of my heart."

* * *

Eight would lie if she claimed she didn't fear the others. They were all, with the exception of Five, on the Most Wanted List, all charged with murder. Then there was Five and herself, who did not appear on said list. That didn't particularly exclude the possibility of them also being wanted women, the data could have just been corrupted beyond the android's capacity to recover them. They could be even worse persons than the rest, with crimes far greater. Still, what frightened her most was how the crew would react to the news of both being criminal and being surrounded by criminals. None of them seemed too pleased to find out they killed people for a living, so Eight gave them the credit for that. It was as Four said, the past was no longer a part of them. Maybe they could all start anew.

The only thing that made her happy was that 'The Raza' were not some half lizard humanoids. The fact the crew itself was sent there to exterminate the miners was another matter that she didn't really want to ponder on since Two clearly stated that no one was killing anyone. At least until they had more time to think things through.

After a heated conversation, she was back in her room. The door had just shut behind her and she found herself alone. There was a hollow inside her; something was missing, something _grand_ , she could feel it almost. She was not a part of the Raza's crew, not a wrecked murderer. And she was definitely more than a number. She had to be! She'd rather be a wanted criminal than just plain simple 'Eight'. She sat on the edge of the bed and held her head in her hands. Why couldn't the files the android recovered have some information on her, too? She was so desperate for belonging. She needed just one glimpse of the past she had forgotten, just one to cling on to. It wasn't all that much to ask for, was it?

She decided to take a hot bath and perhaps relax, but it didn't help much. She sat on the bed and from the corner of her eye she saw the drawer of the nightstand was cracked. Out of pure impulse, she reached inside. There weren't many things there, a hair brush and some clips, a small moisturizer, a necklace and a notebook. The pendant caught her attention first. It was in the shape of a lemniscate and she couldn't help but wonder if there was something more to it than an obsession with the infinity symbol.

She took the note next and flipped through its pages in hopes of some sort of clue, a name, a place, anything. But most of it was empty, save for the first three pages; it was apparently newly bought, with no smudges or plies. The writing made no sense, it was a list of items, as pretentious as the wardrobe the previous owner of the room had: hundreds of flower decorations, silk canopies, chandeliers and other random stuff. Whoever this woman was, she was paying no heed to expenses. But what if it had been hers. After all, the pendant was a sure sign. Maybe she was rich, maybe the crew kidnapped her for ransom.

Eight flipped the pages of the notebook, scanning for more writing, but they stopped at the middle; something stuck inside. Her eyes widen as she took the photograph and threw the notebook on the bed. Her fingers touched the slick surface of the photo as if that assures her the thing in her hand was real. One of the two was Eight herself, all pampered up, her hair in intricate braids. Her smile was stretching from ear to ear and you could practically feel the joy oozing out of the photo.

Strong arms were holding her in midair, spinning her, the motion caught perfectly in the static image. Eight must have stared at the other person face for a while because her vision blurred at one point

Four, or should she say Ryo, was wearing a smile that matched her own. Maybe it wasn't him, perhaps just a lookalike? But who was she trying to fool? It was clearly him. Same dark eyes only kinder, same broad shoulders and toned arms that she admired mere hours earlier. The room started spinning slowly, more questions than answers invading her mind. When she flipped the photo over her breath caught. As if mocking her, in an elegant handwriting the inscription read: _'A memory to last forever'_. Well, wasn't that funny? Apparently _forever_ was not memory-wipe proofed.

A knock of her door startled her so badly she fell from the bed's edge. Agitated she threw the photo back in the drawer and shut it. She made her way to the door taking deep breaths to calm down and not look too suspicious. As the door flung open she was met with Four's face. Her mind blanked she wasn't sure for how long she just stared at him without saying anything.

"Can I come in?" His question took her by surprise so she did the only thing she knew: act politely.

"Ah, sure." She stepped aside giving him pace to enter her room and closed the door behind him. He looked around for a moment, taking in his surroundings. Eight couldn't even begin to phantom what he wanted from her. The thought of his killer instincts coming to life with the discovery that he was a criminal crossed her mind, but she dispelled it quickly. After all, he said the past mattered no more since they had no knowledge of ever doing all those horrible things.

"How are you holding up?" He turned to her and their eye met. Did he know? Had he perhaps remembered they knew each other before the unfortunate events that led to their amnesia? Had he also found something that hinted they were friends before? He was his usual stoic self, his expression giving away no emotion. Was he concerned? Worried she might pose a threat? Merely curious as to why she did not appear in the files the android discovered? Question after question and still no answer.

"Ah, been better, I think... I must have..." In a different time, a different place perhaps. She looked at him, random possibilities for his visit popping in her head. She should really find something to occupy her mind, else she'd go insane.

"You are not afraid of us." It sounded like a question, though he seemed to have already made an opinion of his own about the matter. Eight tilted her head to the side a little and took her time formulating an answer - he gave her the impression that only one was correct and she really wanted to guess it for some reason.

"I am to some degree."

"That's wise."

"But it's not what you think. I'm not scared that one of you might kill me of anything. After all, we're in this mess together. But more because I don't know how each of you'll react to finding out you're criminals…"

"How could they react?" _They_ , not we. He wasn't lumping himself together with the rest of the crew. He already knew how he was taking in all the information and what he was doing with it. It was a bit scary, like was an android himself.

"Well, for example, One will try to get us to help the miners, as a redeeming action for our past sins. Three on the opposite side, will say we're already scumbags and encourage us to keep doing bad things since we were doing them when we had our memories. They will clash at some point. If not now with the miners, in the near future."

"What about the others?"

"I don't know. Two is a strong woman but I think she's trying to keep things too diplomatic. I mean, I don't agree with splitting the cache, it's the biggest risk in my opinion. Six, he seems level headed enough, though I suspect he's a lot more troubled by the fact that he killed people than he's letting on. And Five, she' so desperate to be part of the crew…"

"You gave it a lot of thought, haven't you?"

"What else is there to do, other than think about stuff?"

"What do you think _I'_ ll do?" Four broke an amused smile for a fraction o a second. Eight thought she never felt o trapped and defenseless in her life. Was he looking for a particular answer? Did he have a secret agenda?

"Is it a trick question?"

"No, just curious on how you see me. I believe your perception about the others is rather accurate ." Eight bit her lip, considering her options, which were not that many. Either tell the truth or lie. She had thought about him as well and she was pretty sure she had him all figured out. But would he be okay with her analyzing him? Some people took it rather offensively. How did she even know that? When his brow lifted she decided to just tell him and be done with it.

"I _think_ that you couldn't care less, for the moment at least, about what you used to _do_. I think you already pondered long and hard about it and realized there's no helping what happened in the past; it's behind us. Instead, you're focusing on who exactly you are and what were the circumstances that brought you here." She stared at him for a moment. "A-am I close?" He didn't answer for a long moment, just kept looking into her eyes as if the answer he was looking for was being written there.

"No. You're absolutely right. There is no changing the past, therefore no need to stress over it. The most important thing right now is finding out more about ourselves." He took a few steps, closing the space between them. Eight took a step back but hit the wall. There was a faint smile on Four's face as he advanced too. It reminded her of the photo in her nightstand and she had to concentrate hard not to look towards it. "What about you? What are _your_ plans?"

"I, um, don't know. I was hoping I would find some clues in here; a name at least."

"In here? This was your room?" If he was surprised or anything he didn't show.

"I supposed so. The clothes all fit and there aren't many woman on board." She lied and it felt like he could smell the deceit on her. His eyes squinted a little and his lips pressed together a bit tighter. And what kissable lips those were! She darted her eyes back to his and tried to become one with the wall. Four was just peering down at her, his face a mask of nothingness. If he suspected anything, he said nothing about it.

"Then it seems we all chose our former rooms."

"Oh, is that so? That's a good thing, right? It might mean our memories are not completely gone."

"Or just that we are, in essence, the same people, with the same thought processes and the same preferences." Boy, for someone who people made fun for being too quiet he sure was chatty. And why was he just standing there in front of her, so fucking close. He could probably hear the drumming noise her heart made.

"I-I guess." Eight's eyes were going back and forth between his eyes, the wall behind him and his lips. She was sure he noticed; a bling man would have noticed, but he made no attempt of moving from her personal space. He just...lingered there. "Say, did you need anything when you came here?"

"Not in particular."

"And in general?"

"You're a bit of a puzzle. I don't like puzzles."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but I can't help you much there."

"You're lying."

"Wha- How dare-"

"You're a very bad liar, even for someone I know nothing about."

"What makes you so sure I'm lying?"

"Small things. For instance, you only look me dead in the eyes when you're telling a lie." She thought about it for a moment and it was true. But wasn't looking someone in the eyes supposed to create trust or something?

"For the sake of the argument, let's presume you are right. What do you think I'm not telling the truth about? Surely you don't think I'm faking the memory loss."

"I'm not entirely sure. That's what makes you puzzling in the first place. There's just something about you that I can't shake, like a warning, an alarm." Okay, he was crazy! Someone help her! The next thing he did made her squeeze her body harder against the wall, if that was even possible. Four lowered his forehead and placed it against hers, his eyes closing. Eight's breath caught in her throat and she swallowed hard. He was so freaking close. And he smelled good, something musky with a woody base and marine accords. It was a weirdly familiar smell and she couldn't help inhaling it. It was soothing and for a split second she thought everything was going to be okay.

Eight opened her eyes and was met Four's dark ones, his head backing away slightly. His expression was somewhat softer but she could still not say for sure what was going trough his head. They stayed like that for what seemed an eternity, eyes locked and foreheads _almost_ touching. He was handsome, that was certain. And she did kind of wished he's kiss her senseless right there, pressed against the wall. Or she could initiate the whole thing, after all he took the first step by cornering her in her room. Thankfully she didn't have to make a decision. Her stomach made it for her when it released a grumbling sound. She felt the blush creeping up her neck all the way to the tip of her ears. Eyes on his shirt, not wanting to face him, she must have gone at lest two shades redder when he chuckled.

"You weren't there when we ate. You should go grab something."

"You guys ate?"

"Yes. Six cooked some of the supplies we brought back from the miners. There should still be some left."

"Oh, great. I'll just, um, go then." She tried slipping past him, but a strong arm trapped her in place. The look he gave her was beyond serious and she slightly shivered.

"Whatever you're hiding, I hope it has nothing to do with our amnesia."

"I swear, as far as I know, I had nothing to do with that." He examined her face for a little longer then just gave her a short nod. Pressing the button besides the door, he exited without another word or second glance. Eight was left alone and she slid down the wall, resting her head on her knees.

Why hadn't she told him they used to be close? Well, for starters, because she didn't know _how close_. Where they merely friends? Lovers? Cousins? Step-brother and sister? In-laws? There were a hundred possibilities and she wasn't sure which was was the most appealing. Not that it mattered much since only one was _true_. She debated for a while if she should just show him the photo and see what his thoughts were, but managed to come with no easy way of doing it so she just pushed it aside. For the time being. She should research him more when she got a chance since she did know his name - Ryo Tetsudo.

The sole _concrete_ conclusion she could draw was that she had, subconsciously, chosen her own room; all of them had apparently. Had they used the same thought process as 'before' and if so, was that proof that their memories were still there, just deeply buried in some dark corner of the mind? Did _she_ use to have problems finding her way around the ship even before the memory wipe? Could she use her obsession for the infinity symbol and her ties to Four to dig something about her past. She rubbed her temples, her head throbbing. All those questions and no answers. Thinking about it didn't help her at all, it only made her dizzy, more confused.

And hungry!

So she left her room and tried to locate the kitchen. It was easier said than done, of course. How did anyone manage to find anything on the blasted ship? The thing wasn't all that huge, but all the corridors looked the exact same. She walked past the med bay and the bridge, but still didn't find the kitchen. Her stomach kept protesting and she was starting to get a little irritated. She managed to find a cremate, but frowned a bit when she saw who exactly it was.

"You look lost. Can I help you, sweetcheeks?" Three was still carrying that huge gun he liked so much and leaning against the wall. She didn't like him much, but she kind of preferred him in that moment. He was less likely to ask too personal questions or even notice she was just a tad uneasy.

"I was looking for the kitchen actually."

"Ah, missed dinner. Come, it's this way."

"Thank you. I really can't find my way around this ship."

"I think I saw a blueprint on the bridge. You could look it up or ask the android for one of your own." Walking by him, she thought of his idea and was surprised to find it... useful.

"You know what, that might actually help a lot."

"You sound surprised. Does it have anything to do with the fact that I was the one who suggested it?"

"Oh, shut it! You know know very well the image you're making for yourself ain't gonna win you much sympathy with the others."

"Ah, but I only want to help them. Even if they don't see it, it's for their benefit also."She sighed and shook her head, but smiled nonetheless. If you went past his questionable morals, Three was an easy guy to hang with, always joking and lightening the mood. They reached the kitchen and Three sat at the table while Eight took the sole plate from the fridge. Apparently someone had saved her a plate.

"Do you know who kept this for me?" He furrowed his brows, concentrating and his face lightened when he remembered. He was so very different from Four who kept all his emotions in check.

"Hmm, I believe Five suggested it. I think the little one wanted to talk to you; she kept asking if she should grab you to eat with us."

"Why didn't any you?" She furrowed her brows, both at his words and the taste of the... soup? It looked like soup, but tasted like something foul. Nevertheless, she was famished so she took another spoonful, then another.

"Two went by your room, but you didn't answer. She just assumed you went to sleep."

"No, I couldn't sleep. I did take a rather long bath though, so maybe I didn't hear her knocking."

"Care for another after-"

"Don't make if weird, please. I'm actually starting to like you."

"But it's all part of my charm."

"I'm sure you have plenty other strong-points." It was the bare truth. Eight really believed that he was not as shallow as he was portraying himself. He mentioned once that 'humor' was his defense mechanism and that was exactly that he was doing, masking his insecurities and fears with a good laugh and detaching himself from a group he remembered nothing of. They were, as far as they remembered, a bunch of strangers stuck on a ship.

"The others don't share your opinion, doll face."

"Oh, they've seen nothing yet, I's sure. And could you please stop with the pet names? They were cute in the beginning, but their time is up. just call me Eight."

"Does it bother you? That you ere not in the files?"

"Hmm, A bit, I guess. You got to know you names at least, even it they came with a lot more information. But I'm positive I will figure out who I am sooner than later."

"You seem sure of yourself. Any particular reason, _Eight_?" She sighed and got up to clean the plate. Was there any reason for her confidence? Her ties to Four were her primary starting point, but she didn't wish to share that just yet.

"Not really. But the android managed to recover those files in a short time. We already know the name of the ship and that we used to be mercenaries under Ferrous Corp. Our employer surely knows something about me. If anything I could always reach out there, but I was hoping something around the ship might help..."

"What do you think you'll find out?" She chuckled and picked up an apple from a still unpacked crate.

"If you're asking if I think I'm a criminal with the rest of you... I don't really know what to say. I think I must be, but I don't really want to be. Then again, if I'm not, why the hell was I on board the ship, in stasis like the rest?" She picked a knife and proceeded to cut the apple in smaller pieces. It was lighter than she expected and cut far easier than she would've thought. The blade felt both right and wrong, but her hand seemed to know exactly what to do with it.

"You're rather good with that knife."

"What do you mean? I jut cut it."

"Yeah, with lightning speed in six equal pieces." She looked at the apple. It didn't look like much, just slices on a plastic chopper. "Try throwing it at something."

"The apple?"

"No silly, the knife!"

"That's dangerous."

"Well, we're dangerous people. Common, grant me this one wish if you're saying no to that bath."

"What bath?" Four's voice almost made her jump out of her skin. He entered the kitchen with almost no sound, stalking like a predator.

"Ah, Four! You like sharp things, convince her to try throwing the knife at something." The newcomer spared Three only a glance before taking a seat at the table without a word. "Gaah, chatty as ever! Maybe throw the knife at him; that'll get him a little more excited."

"I'm not throwing it at anyone!"

"Fine. How about that plate over there by the sink? Almost looks like a practice target."

"Alright. But I take no responsibility on any damage." Giving Three what he wanted might have not been the smartest move, but at lest it would shut him up. For a short while. Eight drew in a deep breath then exhaled. She fixed the plate with her eyes and visualized the knife flying and hitting the center. It came easily, the motion of her hand, the twist in her wrist as she let go of the knife. She knew it hit the mark before it even reached it. The blade left a small tint in the metal plate and clanked loudly on the counter. Three almost bounced towards it and examined the plate, wide grin of his stupid face.

"Now that's what I'm talking about. Here, try again." Three took a few more knives from a drawer and handed them over to Eight. She looked at him skeptically, but the glee on his face was so genuine she couldn't refuse. Besides, she was curious now to see it had been beginner's luck or she wasn't a beginner at all. She wasn't really amazed when each knife hit close to the first small tint, leaving marks or their own. a long sigh escaped her. Fantastic! She was god at knife throwing. Her chances of being a circus performer were dim, but they were there.

"Woho, see that, Four? She might actually be as good as you with sharp and pointy things." He turned and slapped his palm on her upper back in an encouraging gesture. "You're definitely one of us, even if you didn't make the Most Wanted list. Maybe you were just a small time pick pocket. You fell in love with a the most handsome member of the crew, me, and you joined the really wrong king of group."

"You know. That wouldn't be half bad. My former self must have led a life full of adventures."

"So, what do you say we give u a try-" Three leaned closer to her, but she interrupted him, placing her index finger on his lips.

"But what if, I were a widow of some poor fellow you ended. And I came here for revenge." She was joking around, actually enjoying herself, until her eyes met Four's. He was looking at them, his face betraying nothing of his thoughts. His eyes, though, were a different story. If looks could kill, Eight was pretty certain his glare could off people in a matter of seconds. Three was the one who lightened the mood yet again.

"Hey, why me? Anyone on the ship could have killed your pretend husband. Maybe you're here to take revenge on Two for stealing the guy, or on Four for slaughtering your whole village." Eight scoffed.

"As if I came from a village. I'm a big city girl, Three. With city girl standards. You, cowboy, are out of your league."She lifted her right hand in front of his face and shook her index finger in a negative connotation, then turned around flipping her braid over her shoulder. "I'll leave you boys to it. I think I'll try to get some sleep. See you around." Making her way out she could hear Three ramble something, but the words were shushed. She made out something about her ass, thought she couldn't be entirely sure. Though flattered, she hoped not. It would make her very self conscious; maybe she should try on one of those dresses, they didn't show as much curves as those pans did.

Eight fell asleep as soon as she settled on her bed, light covers draped around her. She vaguely remembered dreaming something, but she couldn't recall. Looking at she small digital clock on the nightstand she saw she slept all trough the night and the entire morning. She wondered if the others set meals at any particular hours and if she missed breakfast or each of them just ate when hungry. She rolled out of bed and decided to inspect the drawer better, maybe pick something else to wear. Most of the dresses short, leaving her knees exposed. She picked a black ne with three-quarters sleeves and paired it with some black leggings. She took sole lingerie and headed for the shower.

After fleshing up and putting on her boots she decided she felt more comfortable like that. She sat back down on the bed and fished the nightstand drawer for the photo. It was, not surprisingly, still there. A part of her thought that maybe she made everything up in her mind, because, like Five, she too wanted to somewhere to belong to. She looked at the picture and wondered if she'd ever remember that moment. They looked happy. Any reason for that? Or was it a spur of the moment photo? Where was it taken? Did they use to be neighbors? And, most of all, should she show it to Four? He will probably place it in the past, with the rest of his memories. He said it himself, what was important to him was finding out who he was and how he got there. The photo and the information it revealed was only of interest to Eight, as it was her sole lead to her identity.

She hid it back in the drawer and left to find the others. They were supposed to go back to the miners and give them half the cache and Eight wanted to go too. She couldn't do much, but she could try and calm the spirits once One and Three would start arguing again. She was surprised when she actually found the bridge, but Two gave her a panicked look.

"Hide! Right now! Don't let them see you." They heard footsteps from the way she came in and Two rushed her behind the console. The door to the bridge opened s soon as she crouched down.

"Welcome aboard."

"You were hired to do a job."

"Like I said...complications arose."

"And continue to do so, apparently. On my way over, I received word that we suffered casualties on the planet. And that your team was responsible." Eight's hand covered her mouth to snuffle a gasp. The boys were already on the planet and already causing trouble. What the hell were they thinking?

"Lucky for you, I'm feeling generous today. I'm willing to call it even.

"In exchange for?"

"Turn this ship around and leave immediately."

"I still have people down there."

"Well, they made their choice. They opened fire on Ferrous Corp personnel, they have to answer for that. I suggest you two ladies don't make the same mistake. If it makes it easier, I'll even throw in a bonus, just for you and Cat. I understood she was not with your men on the ground." Eight's heart skipped a beat. 'Cat'? Was that her? Was it a nickname? It could be Five? Or someone else entirely. She almost jumped from her spot when Two asked the next question.

"How much?" No way! Eight calmed down the initial shock quickly. She would do no good if she rose from her hiding place. Besides, Two was probably just stalling for time. Eight really hoped she was not about to leave the boys stranded there, sitting ducks for Ferrous Corp. So she stayed hidden while they made the deal and the guy left. She heard several pair of boots and the door shutting. A short while later they opened again.

"Eight? You can come out now." She got to her feet and saw Two seated and rubbing her forehead. The android stood calmly by the woman's chair, waiting for instructions. Or whatever it was she did. "We really didn't need all this mess. What are they doing down there?" She shook her head and tried contacting the Marauder. Nothing. Eight's heart had become small, her mind raging with what they could do.

"What now? Can we go down for them?"

"No. They're just itching to blow us down from the sky. We should have already left. If we stay too long they'll become suspicious."

"So, we just leave them?"

"I don't know. It's the only thing we can do right now."

"They want to keep this whole business quiet, yes? We could report this to the authorities." Two eyed her like she was stupid for a moment, but then seemed to consider something.

"If we go to the authorities, they'll lock us up first, then verify if what we say is true. We're on wanted criminals. And even if they get here in time after, the rest of the crew will suffer the same fate."

"Well, the other option is them being gunned down by Ferrous Corp."

"Not necessarily. You might be onto something. He mentioned their biggest rival, the Mikkei Combine. They would benefit the most if Ferrous Corp couldn't get the miners to leave. They'd be interested in sabotaging their rival's plans and wouldn't ask much of us." Eight vaguely recalled the guy mentioning a rival company, buy didn't think much of it at the time.

"Okay, that's brilliant."

"Android, set course to the nearest MIkkei outpost." The android closed her eyes for a moment and the ship entered FTL.

Those were the longest hours in Eight's life! The life she'd have since she woke from stasis anyway. The rest of the crew was on the planet while the girls were half-way across the galaxy! Maybe that was an exaggeration, they were fairly near, but still, it was several hours away. Ferrous Corp could have already sent their men to finish the job, One, Three, Four and Six could already be dead, bullet trough the forehead.

"You're worried." The android's voice behind her scared the living hell out of Eight.

"Holly- Of course I'm worried. Five is hiding somewhere on the ship. Two is off making a deal with another, presumably, evil organization. All the while the guys are back with the miners and they have no idea we left. And if they did notice that the ship i no loner waiting for them, they have no way of knowing we just went to get help. They cold think we abandoned them."

"And you don't want them to think that."

"No. If if were me down there, I wild feel betrayed. Even if we, technically, don't know each other that well."

"Does it not bother you that they're criminals?"

"I'm probably one, too."

"It would explain your presence on the ship. But do you want to be a part of the team? Or do just feel you have no other choice?" Eight looked at the android a little dumbfounded. She knew very little of technology, especially something as advanced as androids, but she doubted they possessed a very extended notion of 'emotions' and 'feelings'. But she knew she was worrying and know she was asking about her feelings. The eerie look she was giving Eight made her question if there was some kind of faulty system installed on her or an extremely advanced one.

"Uum, I don't wish to be a criminal. But I am becoming fond of this crew." The android seemed pleased with the answer, but Eight thought she just imagined the smile ever plastered on her face widen. The door opened and Two made her way in with Five.

"Okay, Android, we're heading back for the rest of the crew." Before Eight could ask, Five clarified the situation.

"Two told me what happened on the way here. She convinced Mikkei to send help."

"There wasn't much need for convincing. The sharks jumped right in when I mentioned Ferrous Corp blood."

One excruciatingly long FTL ride later, Two was, with a smug expression of her pretty face, owning the Ferrous Corp guy's ass. Eight decided she liked the other woman. She had been loyal to the team and was definitely a born leader. After another few attempts to reach the Marauder, Six finally responded and announced they were heading back. The three of them, and the android, waited for them to come back and Eight numbered the seconds it took. Exactly 538 seconds until the doors slid open and she saw they were all in one piece. Her eyes met with Four's ans she thought he might have given her a nod, but it had been such a slight bent of the head that she could have just misinterpreted it. He was probably just tired. They all looked rather battered. Two took her time explaining what had happened and why they had to leave.

"Ah, we weren't worried. Ha a feeling you girls would come back for us." Three gave them a wide smile, but it was obvious he had had doubts about the Raza ever returning. Eight scoffed at his remark and rolled her eyes, but played along.

"Especially for you, Three. This place would be dreary without your humor." He gave her a wink and was about to say something more when Five interrupted.

"Okay. So, what's next?"

"The nearest space station is a couple of days out. We head there, refuel, resupply and then decide. In the meantime we could spend some quality time to get to know each other." Eight's eyes instantly searched for Four, but he was already with his back towards them, exiting the bridge. She cursed herself for developing such a crush on a guy who she barely knew. Even if they had been more once, the reality was she had only met him two days before. So she made up her mind to be patient and wait to dig up more information on him and that 'Cat' person. Who knew? It might just be related to her.

* * *

 **So** , I was going to name her Arabella, but I was watching Penny Dreadful the other day and a new character appeared and it was love at first hearing. I'm still not sharing the full name yet. You'll have to stick 'till chapter 4 :P

I'm really trying to keep this in third person and only following Eight and it's a bit different than what I usually write. It's proving to be a tad challenging. Let me know how I'm doing.

I'm also trying to use as less material from she show as possible. As one of you said in the reviews, you already saw the episodes and know what happened between the crew. :D

Is the **_dress_ ** thing weird? I really liked the photo I chose for the story and thought it cool for Eight to grab knifes from under her skirt at some point :))

Oh, I really didn't care much for the Ferrous Corp guy's name...hope you aren't too disappointed :))

Other than that, I'm just impatiently waiting for season 2. It's in like... 2 weeks or something. Can't wait!


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